ESPNW Top 25

[Orangutan]

LINK

Always nice to have another set of rankings to complaint about And these at least come with a write-up on each team.

UCONN blurb:

Sure, the 111-game winning streak ended and the Huskies didn't win a fifth straight national championship, but the loss to Mississippi State -- much like a regular-season loss to Stanford in 2014 - is likely just a brief interruption in another round of complete dominance. Until the Final Four, UConn was indisputably the best team in the country last season -- and the Huskies are better this year. All the key contributors are back in seniors Nurse and Williams and juniors Samuelson and Collier, and each of them could rank among the top-10 players in the country. And yet, Azurá Stevens, a 6-foot-6 Duke transfer, could be the best of the bunch. Depth, the one area that could be seen as a UConn vulnerability the past few seasons, is now just another strength when you add in guard Crystal Dangerfield, the No. 1 recruit in 2016 who has reportedly improved in the offseason, Megan Walker, this year's top high schooler, 6-2 Kentucky transfer Batouly Camara and two more top-20 recruits. The Huskies' first four games are against top-25 teams, and they play five of the preseason top-10 this season. The question all year long will be which one, if any, is capable of doing what Mississippi State did in the Final Four in Dallas.

 

[Orangutan]

1. UConn
2. Texas
3. Baylor
4. Mississippi State
5. Ohio State
6. Stanford
7. South Carolina
8. Oregon
9. Notre Dame
10. Louisville
11. Duke
12. UCLA
13. Tennessee
14. West Virginia
15. Florida State
16. Maryland
17. Missouri
18. Marquette
19. Oklahoma
20. South Florida
21. Michigan
22. Oregon State
23. Cal
24. Texas A&M
25. Arizona State

Receiving votes: Belmont, DePaul, Indiana, LSU

 

[oldude]

A number of polls indicate that the Longhorns will arrive this season. On paper they certainly have the talent. It will be interesting to see if they can prove it on the court, which, by my way of thinking, would entail winning the Big 12 and making it to the FF in Columbus.

 

[Carnac]

A number of polls indicate that the Longhorns will arrive this season. On paper they certainly have the talent. It will be interesting to see if they can prove it on the court, which, by my way of thinking, would entail winning the Big 12 and making it to the FF in Columbus.

Agreed, and by winning the BIG 12, that would mean taking care of business with their in-state rival Baylor. Kim Mulkey has been the "Queen Bee" in Texas for some time. I don't think she has any plans on relinquishing that position anytime soon. The Bears recruited very well during the last signing period, and are poised to defend their conference title for 2017-2018. I think this is the year Aston and her Lady Longhorns get it done. This may be the best team Aston has had since her arrival. Those will be two games I'd pay to see. You can bet there will be a lot of trash talk, and no love loss during these two contests.

 

[Plebe]

Breakdown by conference:
AAC: 2 (#1, 20)
ACC: 4 (#9, 10, 11, 15)
Big 12: 4 (#2, 3, 14, 19)
Big East: 1 (#18)
Big Ten: 3 (#5, 16, 21)
Pac-12: 6 (#6, 8, 12, 22, 23, 25)
SEC: 5 (#4, 7, 13, 17, 24)

 

[DefenseBB]

I guess I look at this and immediately think Stanford is a tad too high (or low) at #6 and should be 11-13 range. tOSU is far to high (or low) at #5 and is really 12-15. I get they play nobody so their record will look good but their games against other top 25 will expose them, particularly against the blue bloods. Oregon and UCLA seem under rated to me and should move up as should SC and ND.
As far as the battle of Texas goes, I think both can recruit like mad but both have deficiencies in x’s and o’s when the games get tight. Kim can’t adjust when her team is off and/or a call goes against her; Ashton is “offensively scheme challenged” and relies far too much on Brooke and won’t have Holmes athleticism in the fall (plus has Holmes learned discipline yet?). I think UT has superior talent and depth but BU has better discipline.
I really am most curious on MSU and the follow up season McCown, Williams and Vivian’s have without their senior defensive stoppers. Will they knock off a weakened SC still with Aja and Bianca? Goosebumps I tell ya, goosebumps just thinking we are a few days away.

 

[YellwJcket999]

Call me lazy for not looking up the info before posting, I don't believe that Oregon lost very many players at all from last year.
With that said, they should be very competitive, possibly a sleeper (can you be a sleeper in the top 10? )

Anyways - I think that there is a significant gap between the top #12 and the rest of the top #25.

5. South Carolina
6. Oregon
7. ND
8. tOSU
9. UCLA
10. Louisville.
The rest...eh...

 

[Plebe]

I guess I look at this and immediately think Stanford is a tad too high (or low) at #6 and should be 11-13 range. tOSU is far to high (or low) at #5 and is really 12-15. I get they play nobody so their record will look good but their games against other top 25 will expose them, particularly against the blue bloods. Oregon and UCLA seem under rated to me and should move up as should SC and ND.
As far as the battle of Texas goes, I think both can recruit like mad but both have deficiencies in x’s and o’s when the games get tight. Kim can’t adjust when her team is off and/or a call goes against her; Ashton is “offensively scheme challenged” and relies far too much on Brooke and won’t have Holmes athleticism in the fall (plus has Holmes learned discipline yet?). I think UT has superior talent and depth but BU has better discipline.
I really am most curious on MSU and the follow up season McCown, Williams and Vivian’s have without their senior defensive stoppers. Will they knock off a weakened SC still with Aja and Bianca? Goosebumps I tell ya, goosebumps just thinking we are a few days away.

Uh, so top-25 teams are "nobody"?

 

[willtalk]

Call me lazy for not looking up the info before posting, I don't believe that Oregon lost very many players at all from last year.
With that said, they should be very competitive, possibly a sleeper (can you be a sleeper in the top 10? )..

They basically return all their starters. College Sports Madness has it wrong. McGuire replaced Vandenberg in January so all the starters return. They also have brought in some really good freshman two of which who will play significant roles this year and might even end up starting before the season is over. I also agree they are really underrated. They should be really deep and there is nothing like depth to assure consistency.

 

[DefenseBB]

Uh, so top-25 teams are "nobody"?

Thank you for pointing out my comment was rather ambiguous- to clarify that aspect- as the Current #5 they will struggle to beat other top 25 teams more so than a like top 5 team should do. Baylor, UConn, ND, SC always dominate the lower 20 rankings. ND. I suspect they will have a losing record against top 25. Geno has me biased towards ball movement and defensive minded team and this team loses out on both accounts. Maybe the father sitting on the bench also contributes to my dislike...